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The Sign Of Circumcision : The Timing

The
Sign Of CircumcisionThe
TimingIn
a Brief Survey of the Epistle of Paul to the RomansBased
on sermons preached in PCC Worship Services, July 2003 to Sep 2005Part 18a of 83

“9 Cometh this
blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also?
for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.… 16
Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise
might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to
that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,…”
(Romans 4:9-17)

The
book of Romans is centred on the theme: “Justification by grace through faith
in Christ alone.” This doctrine answers the most pressing question that man can
ever ask, namely: How can I enjoy a right relationship with God?

Paul’s
answer is unequivocal: God is holy therefore sinful man can enjoy a right
relationship with Him only if he has the righteousness of God. And he can only
have God’s righteousness if God gives it to him. And he must receive it by
faith in Christ alone. The good works of man cannot buy God’s favour because
there is none that does good. Unless God first declare a man to be righteous in
Christ, nothing that he does can be acceptable to God.

Paul
summarises the doctrine very succinctly in chapter 3. In chapter 4, he proves
that Abraham was justified by faith too. Many of the Jews thought that Abraham
was accepted by God because of his obedience to God. But the apostle showed
that this was not the case. “For what saith the scripture?” he asks? “Abraham
believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness” he answers (v. 3).

The Scriptures
is clear that Abraham experienced God’s blessing not for His good works or
obedience, but for his faith. And Abraham was not the only one who enjoyed this
blessing. David spoke of this blessing too (v. 7-8). He spoke about it in the
context of forgiveness from gross sin that he committed.

But
both Abraham and David enjoyed the same blessing: For they were both sinners in
the sight of God. Abraham might not have sinned as grievously as David, but he
needed reconciliation with God too.

Both
Abraham and David were reconciled to God not
because they deserved
reconciliation. They deserved nothing but condemnation. Neither were they
reconciled because they did good in the sight of God. No, all
their good works were but filthy rags in the sight of God.

No,
no; they both received reconciliation by
faith in the Messiah to come. They were able to enjoy a favourable
relationship with God not because they earned it, but because Christ purchased
it for them.

But
now an important a question remains: Both Abraham and David were Jews were they
not? They were both of the Circumcision were they not? If that is so, then
could it be that only those who are circumcised can receive the blessing of
God’s righteousness? Regardless of whether they receive it by faith or not,
could it be that circumcision is a pre-requisite? Paul anticipates this
question in verse 9, —“Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only,
or upon the uncircumcision also?”[1]

This
is an important question. If it is indeed true that circumcision is a
pre-requisite for receiving God’s blessing, then there are a couple of serious
implications: First, it could mean that the people of God should still be
circumcised today. Gentiles should be grafted into the commonwealth of Israel
by circumcision. Or secondly, if you
agree that baptism has replaced circumcision, then you will have to conclude
that God will bless only those who have been baptised today. If that is
the case, then Paul would have gotten his priorities upside down, for He said
that Christ sent him not to baptised (1 Cor 1:17). And he baptised only a few
households in his whole ministry.

Can
you see now why it is important to know whether one needs to be circumcised to
receive God’s blessing? It is no doubt an important question. And important
questions must be answered from the Scriptures.

This
is what Paul is doing in our text for this study. And his answer in a word
is: No, circumcision is not a prerequisite for justification.
But this is too important a question to answer in a word. It is too important
for us to gloss over it. Thus, Paul proves his answer in 8 verses. His
arguments can be simplified into 3 points:

(1)Abraham
was justified before he was circumcised;

(2)Circumcision
is of the law. If it is a prerequisite, then neither Abraham nor his seed could
have received the promise attached to it, for fallen man cannot keep the law
perfectly; and

(3)God’s
promise (which is part of circumcision) is not made to Abraham’s physical seed
(who were circumcised), but to His spiritual seed.

The
Lord helping us, we want to look at these three points, in this tranche of
studies. I trust that as we look at them, we will learn something about the
relationship between justification and circumcision; and so between
justification and baptism.

1. The Timing of Circumcision

Paul
says:

9b
we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for
righteousness. 10 How was it then reckoned? when he was in
circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.
11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the
righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised:…

What
Paul is saying can be verified in Genesis 15 and 17. Abraham was circumcised
when he was 95 years old (Gen 17:24). This is recorded in Genesis 17. But he
was declared righteous more than 10 years earlier
as recorded in Genesis 15.

It
was while he was still uncircumcised that Abraham exercised a living faith, and
was counted righteous. Only after this, was he given the sign of circumcision
by the LORD. In fact, the sign of circumcision was given as a seal to point to the righteousness which Abraham received
by faith before he was circumcised.

Note carefully, that circumcision does not
point to the faith of Abraham (just as baptism does not point to our faith). Circumcision
pointed to the righteousness of God, which is received by faith. It points
to what God
has done rather than what Man does.

And
why is circumcision called a seal? A seal is something that authenticates. If
you receive a diploma or a degree, you will notice a seal on it. The seal tells
you that it is a genuine certificate. In days passed seals were made with red
wax and stamp. Today most people use a method called “hot stamping.” Whatever
the method, a seal authenticates.

Abraham
received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that God had already imputed to him ten years
earlier.

Now, what was true for Abraham, says Paul, is
also true for all believers whether Jews or Gentiles. This is what he is saying
in verses 11-12.

But let me simplify what he is saying so that
we may understand his argument. He is saying that because Abraham had faith and
righteousness before he was circumcised, he became the father of two companies of people. The first
company comprises believers who were not circumcised. The second company
comprises believers who were circumcised. The first company (v. 11) are
Gentiles believers while the second company (v. 12) are Jewish believers.

The point is clear: Abraham was given the
sign of circumcision after he was
justified so that it may be clear to all that he is the father of believers
rather than of the Jews only.

This being the case, how could circumcision
be a pre-requisite to receive God’s blessing—whether for Jews and Gentile? If
circumcision was not prerequisite for Abraham who is the father of the
faithful, how can it be so for us? Circumcision is therefore not a
pre-requisite for receiving God’s righteousness. Not for Abraham. Not for his
children.

What
does this mean for us? Does it not mean that a man can be right with God even
before He is baptised? Baptism is not a pre-requisite for justification. The
Roman Catholic Church is wrong. Protestants who hold to baptismal regeneration
like Rome are also wrong. Those who hold to baptismal regeneration will tell
you that you need to be baptised or you cannot be saved. A friend of mind once
met a stranger who believed strongly in baptismal regeneration. This stranger
tried to convince him to go with him to the beach so that he could baptise him
immediately.

I must say that the stranger was zealous. But
it was zeal without knowledge. The apostle Paul writing under inspiration would
have us know that circumcision was not a pre-requisite for justification in
Christ. Today baptism has replaced circumcision as the seal of God’s
righteousness. Therefore today baptism is not a pre-requisite for justification
in Christ.
All Christians ought to be baptised. It is an ordinance of Christ. Those who
refuse baptism when they can be baptised show a disregard for Christ. They can
be none of His. But let none say that unless we are baptised, we cannot be
saved.

…to be Continued Next Issue

─JJ
Lim

[1]Actually, Paul had already answered the question in
his summary of the doctrine of justification. He had said: “It is one God,
which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through
faith” (3:30), but he must now make it absolutely clear.